Aunt Billies Cafe @ Blackburn

The cafe / coffee culture here in Melbourne is huge with a capital H, and I have to say I am very proud to be part of this culture. I am no coffee fan but I do love my cafe food. Earlier this year, as I was driving along Surrey Road, I find this very warm cafe decorated all in wood and beautiful flowers. It amazes me that for 4 years, as I drove along Surrey Road to university that I never noticed Aunt Billies Cafe until recently. Then again, I wasn’t much of a foodie photographer until recently either :p

Parking at Aunt Billies Cafe is easy and the least bit chaotic because there is a large car park just outside. That’s not the case for cafes in the city where parking is a nightmare. The first time I visited Aunt Billies, I was immediately pleased. The cafe had a very warm atmosphere, pretty yellow lights, matching yellow flowers, and the staff were super friendly and nice. The cafe has both indoor and outdoor seating and very nice wooden tables (good for flatlays).

As for the food -> I loved it! The first time I went, we had “The Billies Bowl” which is a bowl of veggie goodness. It had a wonderful texture from the creamy cauliflower, to the slightly chewy kale, to the crunchy almonds. The main ingredient are the grains and freekah which is a type of cereal. The dish made me feel very healthy. There are also some currents scattered throughout the dish and I really like that slight tang to each bite. All this veggie goodness is served with a poached egg and a very generous half avocado.I have been to many cafes where the avocado is brown and looks disgusting, but I can vouch the avocado at Aunt Billies is always green and fresh.

On a subsequent visit, we had the Parmesan Panko Crumbed Chicken which is essentially fried chicken served with an apple & fennel slaw and sweet potato mash. The chicken was a bit over when we went so that was a bit of a let down but the slaw was spot on and added a refreshing element to the dish.

Aunt Billies also has “specials of the day”. When I went, the special was a pan-fried salmon w/ poached egg, sweet potato chips and a warm pumpkin bean salad on the bottom. It was delicious but I was a bit sad that it wasn’t a permanent dish on the menu because I would have loved to eat it again.

Photo: Aunt Billies special of the day “panfried salmon w/ poached egg and a warm pumpkin + bean salad”

Aside from all the savory meals, Aunt Billies is also a good place to visit when needing to cure a sweet tooth. They have a selection of desserts in their front cabinet with plump sugar dusted donuts, friands, brownies, and delicious scones (they are very big btw!)

PS: they serve their milkshakes in cute mason jars so that’s always a plus haha 😀

Overall, this is a cafe I would return to over and over and would recommend friends and family to visit. Great food, great ambiance, lovely staff, warm atmosphere and lovely interior.